Starting this fall, students admitted to Indiana University-Purdue University Columbus (IUPUC) can participate in two new academic programs.
The first is an Honors Program. Designed for students who seek a more challenging and rigorous academic experience, honors students will have opportunities to engage in applied research, experiential learning in real-world environments, service learning projects, and greater collaboration with faculty.
“With the launch of an Honors Program, we can offer academically motivated students more insightful, creative approaches to learning,” said Dr. Marwan Wafa, IUPUC’s vice chancellor and dean. He noted the program will focus on three core values: academic quality, advanced opportunities, and scholarship and research.
Associate Dean for Academic Affairs Gary Felsten said the program fits the university’s mission. “We want to be the university of choice in our region. With the program’s focus on research and higher-level learning, IUPUC will be able to play an even more integral role in creating a highly educated regional workforce.”
Students will complete honors work in addition to course regular assignments during the semester. Examples of an honors experience might include an independent research project based on the methods taught in the course, a research paper whose references are the primary sources found in a course textbook, or designing and completing another special project.
“Creative projects, like art installations, short stories, novels, and performances are also acceptable,”reported Dr. Andrae Marak, head of the university’s Division of Liberal Arts. “Students who choose service learning projects become highly involved in their local community while gaining hands-on professional experience and training for future employment, which is another wonderful aspect of the program.”
Wafa and Felsten also note that having an honors program will help attract, recruit, and retain a diverse group of exceptional students whose presence on campus will serve to enhance the education of all undergraduate students. They expect that within one or two academic years, the program will accept about 50 students. That number is likely to grow as the university’s enrollments continue to increase.
IUPUC students who successfully complete honors work will earn an honors notation on their official university transcripts. They also earn the privilege of wearing a special honors cord as part of their cap and gown regalia during commencement.
The second new program being offered at IUPUC this fall is a 16-credit women’s studies minor.
With historical roots beginnings in the women’s movement during the 1970s, colleges and universities across the U.S. have created women’s studies programs as an interdisciplinary approach to explore and acknowledge the changing roles of women and men.
“Offering a course of study that focuses on the political, social, economic, historical, and multicultural concerns of women will help both male and female students achieve a deeper understanding of women and their impact on our world,” noted Dr. Wafa.
Aimee Zoeller, a sociology lecturer, is the faculty coordinator for the new IUPUC minor.
“The women’s studies minor gives undergraduate students in any degree program an opportunity to study the dynamic, fluid definitions of masculinity, femininity, and the gendered institutions that we all inhabit,” Zoeller said. “It will encourage students to explore societal norms like gender, race, and class.”
Students interested in either of these new academic programs at IUPUC should contact their academic advisors or visit www.iupuc.edufor more information.